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A tale of two projects : emerging tension between the public and private aspects of employment discrimination law.

A tale of two projects : emerging tension between the public and private aspects of employment discrimination law.

Baker, A. (2005) 'A tale of two projects : emerging tension between the public and private aspects of employment discrimination law.', International journal of comparative labour law and industrial relations., 21 (4). pp. 591-627.

Abstract

Zeal for curing the public ill of discrimination can lead to approaches that ignore the more private concerns of individual victims of discrimination. This article explains that the forward-looking project of changing society to eliminate inequality is quite a different project from that of providing accessible and effective individual remedies for discrimination victims. To that end, the nature and divergence of these two projects is described in abstract terms, and then concretely illustrated by reference to US employment discrimination law, where a clear conflict has evolved between the two. The article then traces the development of anti-discrimination law in Great Britain, and the subtly emerging tension between the two projects here. Finally, the article assesses the contemporary discourse on reform of equality law in Britain, and suggests how a new single equality act might drive for social change without eroding the benefits of the existing system for individual dispute resolution.